Happiness Is Not A Concrete Thing
by brittanyandjasper
Summary: 1st place in TwilightArchives February 2009 Jane-oneshot challenge. Jane Volturi...who is she? She was only a young girl. That's all she ever really was. Please read and review


Jane smiled. "Thank you for saving us," She said sincerely. The dark haired vampire smiled.

"You'll be great one day," He said.

The other vampire spoke up. "You and your brother have talent. We could really use you in our coven."

The last looked at her blankly.

Jane gripped Alec's hand tightly. "We'll join you," She smiled at them.

They were welcomed warmly, and the young girl was accepted into the ring of beautiful female's who wanted nothing more than to fawn over their new doll.

***

It was a complete accident the first time it happened. She was sucking the blood from an old man and Alec was reaching over, trying to snatch it before she could drain it.

She glared at his hand, and it immediately left her view. Its swift departure was accompanied by an agonized scream.

She looked up, afraid of what could be truly harming her brother, and the screaming stopped.

Aro flew to their side. "What is going on, young ones?"

Alec stared at Jane. "I think…we…found her power."

Jane stared open mouthed. "No! I can't do…that! I would never harm anyone, I really wouldn't, Alec I swear I didn't try-"

Caius stopped her. "You must embrace it. Power needs to be used, accepted."

She nodded her head. "A-alright." She turned to her twin and grimaced. "I'm truly sorry, Alec,"

The surrounding vampires were still looking at her with shock.

"Marcus, what do you think of this?" Aro asked, reaching his hand forward. Marcus lifted his hand to touch his, then let it drop swiftly. He glanced at Jane, and then continued on his way.

"Marcus will help you develop your power, dear one," Aro told her kindly.

Chelsea looked at her appraisingly. "Sweetie, you've got to be special if Marcus is the one teaching you."

Jane grinned happily. This power wasn't going to change her. She was still the sweetie of the Volturi.

***

"You must mean it," Marcus growled at her as she once again failed to cause Demetri to cry out in pain.

"I'm sorry!" She said immediately, turning back to her latest helper. She concentrated with all that she was.

Demetri yelped and started shaking. "Sto-stop it!"

Jane immediately stopped, feeling the power slipping from her. She frowned.

"Aw, sorry kid," Demetri said. "Don't feel bad about it, I mean, you're supposed to be doing that."

Jane sighed. "Is that really all I can do? Just hurt others?"

Marcus's face was inexpressive. "That is your power. We must work on that so you can control it. Take a break." He walked back into the castle.

Her young face fell. "I'm sorry I'm not very good at it," She said quietly, knowing he could hear.

Alec ran out of the castle to hug her. "You're getting better, sister, from what I can hear!" He tried to cheer her.

She pushed him away. "I must do better,"

Alec could not remember a time when she had been so surly.

None of the other Volturi members could either. But then again, she hadn't been a vampire for long – how would they know her all that well?

But she was only a girl. What reason did she have to be so angry?

***

"Jane, you're doing extremely well. I mean, look at me. I can't get my damn power to even work most of the time." Alec insisted.

He was always insisting this.

"I'm not doing well enough. Marcus tells me that I must improve always," She said robotically.

Alec frowned.

"Why must I be a freak, even among vampires?" She cried in frustration.

Alec hugged her close. "Sister, you're beautiful. Not a freak, just a very special vampire, and one who is the best sister I could have."

"You are my brother; it is your job to tell me such things." Jane quietly informed him.

"That doesn't make it less true," Alec said simply.

Felix called for Jane. "You need to get outside, it's practice time!"

Alec frowned as his twin left solemnly.

She really was beautiful.

But people can never really see the most amazing bits of themselves.

***

She was breathing heavily. "How'd I do?" She asked, glancing at Marcus.

Felix lay groaning on the floor. "Shit, Jane, you aren't getting _me_ to help out again."

She smiled at him, no malice involved. "Sorry, Felix, really. You're just the strongest, so we figured that you'd be the hardest. We were right," She laughed.

Jane turned back to Marcus. "Well, Master?"

Aro clapped. "Wonderful! Just wonderful! You're going to be powerful, dear one, so powerful,"

Caius grinned. "You'll do."

Marcus stood impassive. "Hmm." He turned and walked back towards the castle as a human pace.

Jane couldn't help it when her face fell. She shook her head and looked back at Aro. "Really?"

"Damn, Jane! You're going to kill us one of these days!" Felix said, offering his own praise.

She skipped over to him and pulled him up. "Alright, I won. That means you have to help me redecorate Renata's room."

"We'll have to be incognito," He reminded her. They walked off to the castle. "Can't let her sneak in while we're putting sequins on her walls,"

Felix knew that the sweet girl was still in there. Why else would she want to play jokes on the older vampires? After all, the power might mask her but it could never change her.

***

All the Volturi vampires were gathered in the main hall, with sunlight sneaking in through the small windows high up on the walls.

Jane and Alec were kneeled in front of the three ancients, with everyone else gathered behind them.

"We three rulers of the Volturi, the keepers of order in the vampire world, bestow upon you the highest level of guard robes. It is our hope that you wear these robes with honor and continue to serve as a member of the Volturi guard." Aro said, draping the darkest gray cloaks across the twins bent forms.

Jane stood up straight. "Thank you, Master," She said, smiling excitedly. Alec immediately copied her, their forms so similar that he was like a mirror image.

The ancient wives stared at them favorably. Aro's personal guard Renata winked at Jane, hiding a smile.

Jane turned and grinned exuberantly at the crowd of vampires. "Thank you," She said, an infinitesimal giggling escaping before she could control it.

Alec turned a split second later. "Our thanks are sincere," He said, more formal than his overjoyed sister.

Caius looked at them greedily, knowing their immense power would come in handy.

Aro looked at them fondly, knowing that their allegiance would prove helpful.

And Marcus just looked at them, not showing anything.

Jane pretended it didn't hurt.

***

"Come on, little one, you've got to keep going," Demetri said impatiently, motioning for Jane to continue through the packed streets.

Her eyes were round, taking in everything on the New York streets.

"You can sight-see later. Right now, we have a situation to take care of."

Her first mission was with Demetri, Afton, and Chelsea.

"Oh, lay off of her. It's her first trip to the States. Let the girl have her fun," said Afton. Chelsea grinned seductively at him.

"You'd be a wonderful father…" Chelsea draped an arm around her mate.

"You know vampires can't have children." Afton sighed.

"Yeah, but we could still _try_," Chelsea implied.

"She _is_ a child, guys," Demetri coughed. "Let's not spoil her innocent mind?"

Jane wasn't listening. Her eyes were still traveling from window to window on each towering building, taking in every sight and smell.

"Let's go finish off these rubble-rousers!" Demetri said, pulling the youngest guard member along.

She never wanted to kill them. But alas, when you're a guard member you listen to Aro and obey his every command.

***

"Well done!" Aro clapped gleefully, eyeing his new collector's item.

The newcomer looked up at Aro with gratitude. "Many thanks for sparing me," He said, his voice filled with thanks.

"Please, accept our offer to join our guard," Caius said in a casual tone.

"Really? Of course, I accept!" He said blissfully.

Jane looked at Chelsea. "Think you're over doing it?" She whisper silently.

The older vampire smiled. "Nope,"

Marcus glanced at them. "Silence," He said.

Jane hushed and looked back to where the new vampire, Corin, was being presented with the first level robe, one of the palest gray.

She often forgot to be made of the stone her skin felt like. She was not to betray silly emotions when she was a member of the guard. Marcus had trained her too well to have her be a child any longer.

***

Alec always wondered when she became so still. When she stopped her dancing, when she stopped her joyful laughter.

So did the rest of the guard.

Aro never noticed, he merely saw a rise in power. "You are so special, dear one," He would tell her after she displayed her latest level of pain.

Caius agreed wholeheartedly. "It was a good decision when we took you."

Jane became a regular on the missions.

Her special talent made sure of that.

Alec wondered if that caused her severity.

How else could a young child be so dramatically changed?

After they arrived back in Volterra, the vampires told the Masters what had occurred in Forks.

"The Cullen's had apparently taken care of it," Felix said sadly, regretting his lack of fighting.

Jane clarified. "The newborns had been decimated, for the most part. But, Master, Edward's human is still…well, human,"

Caius frowned. "Well, that just won't do, now will it?"

Aro held up a hand. "Now, brother, I trust that Carlisle will have this taken care of soon. Let us see if it occurs in the next month or so."

Jane frowned. "Master, we mustn't give them too much time. They'll think we've gone soft."

Aro laughed. "No one will think you've gone soft, dear, don't worry,"

The other vampires in the room tittered at this. Jane had been too bitter for far too long. No one would consider the thought of her showing mercy.

"But the human, she could betray our race! She must be changed, now." Jane said desperately.

Marcus cleared his throat. Everyone turned to listen. "The Cullen's will perform their job in good time. This matter is tedious. It is time to speak of other things,"

Jane grimaced. The Master was right, he was right.

When would she be?

Every vampire has an end. Even those deemed everlasting as the Volturi.

When she was ripped apart, bit by stony bit, her twin remembered her happiness and shrieked in physical pain.

When she was ripped apart, the Master's screwed their faces up in fury.

When she was ripped apart, the guard sadly remembered that she was a child, a young girl who had become too old in this world of vampires.

When she was ripped apart, his apathetic mask wavered for a moment as his prodigy lay dying.

When she was ripped apart, she regretted that she never reached the standards he set.

She never knew that he was proud of her.


End file.
